water and reflectionsfiles.faso.us/36396/2425.pdf · 2012. 11. 11. · water and reflections...

WATER AND REFLECTIONS

Jeanette Jobson

Drawing water is a perceived difficulty. When you

break down the tonal values into shapes, a lot of the

mystique is taken out of the task. The techniques that

apply to creating a drawing of a boat with its

reflections will be revealed, as will the secrets that

make water appear, well watery!

Skills presented include: creating a value map of shadow and light; creating realistic reflections

using light and contrast, graduated shading, toning large areas evenly using pencil pressure and

graphite layers, use of erasers as ‘drawing’ tools.

This lesson is divided into three parts:

ANATOMY OF WATER:

PLANNING AND SKETCHING:

SHADING WATER:

Suggested drawing supplies include good quality white drawing paper, (Bristol Smooth was

used for this drawing) HB, 2B and 4B graphite or mechanical pencils, kneaded and vinyl

erasers, tissues, tortillon, scrap paper.

Recommended for artists from age 12 to adult with basic drawing skills, as well as fine art educators in home

school, academic and recreational environments.

Copyright to this article, images and text, within this drawing class belong to Jeanette Jobson and may not be reproduced or used for any commercial purposes whatsoever without the written permission of Jeanette Jobson.

E-mail [email protected] Blog: http://illustratedlife.blogspot.com

2

12 PAGES – 14 ILLUSTRATIONS

ANATOMY OF WATER

Water makes up two thirds of the planet’s surface in the form of oceans, lakes, ponds and rivers.

Water is transparent and reflective of the environment around it. It will reflect a clear blue sky

or deepen in colour on a cloudy day. A still surface will mirror a boat or a person near its edge.

Wind across the surface will distort reflections and break them into pieces of colour. A stormy

sea will throw huge waves into the air and crash them down with the strength to move boulders.

Waves are simply the tidal movement of water and are also affected by storms and currents. The

water’s surface on a perfect, windless day is calm and reflective. A wave reflects too but its

movement breaks up the reflection of the environment and sky and allows you to see into the

water creating deeper shadows where water is deep or allows you to see what is on the bottom if

the water is shallow. ‘Wave triangles’ are the small sections of water than are deeper in tone and

reflect the movement of the water of the ocean

When you next see a body of water, look for signs of movement on the surface and note the



3

changes in tone that indicates movement. In reflections in water, the tonal value of the reflection

will always be slightly darker than the object that it is reflecting. Any movement of the water

surface will interrupt the reflection and causes distortion. The reflection will be a reversed image

of the object being reflected.

The same principles that apply to drawing still, reflective bodies of water apply to drawing ocean

waves. Observational skills that recognize areas of light and shade are important to accurately

create realism in marine or seascape scenes. Drawing water is similar to drawing metal or glass.

It is composed of varying shapes that make up light or dark. By capturing those shapes in your

initial drawing and knowing their value in tone, drawing water or a similar surface becomes

much easier.

Drawing water effectively is not a fast process. You must be methodical and patient. I promise

you will be rewarded.



4

PLANNING AND SKETCHING

Using an HB pencil and light

pressure, sketch in the basic shapes

of your scene, paying careful

attention to the shapes of any

reflections and how water movement

changes the shape of your reflected

image. The reflection won’t be a

complete mirror image unless there

is absolutely no water movement,

which is very rare!

Illustration 1

Reflections should be coming straight at you, not at an angle. Sketch the shapes of tonal changes

on the surface of the water and note any subtle changes in tone in areas of still water.

Illustration 2

Still using your HB pencil

and with your basic shapes

in place, begin to refine

your drawing, adding detail

to the boat, its planks and

the lines that reflect the

light and shadows from the

water onto the hull of the

boat and its reflection. Add

details in a value map of

tonal shapes in the water

and on the boat and

reflection. Drawing water and reflections is a bit like a jigsaw puzzle. All the pieces have a

place and the whole picture won’t look correct unless you have them in the right place.



5

Use your sketch paper as the

draft drawing where you make changes

and erase. Erasing and overdrawing will

sometimes change the surface of your

paper, so transferring the image to your

new paper gives you a clean, fresh

surface to work on.

When you are satisfied with your

completed line drawing, you can transfer

the drawing to a new piece of paper.

You can do this with a light box or more

commonly used, tape your drawing to a

window on a bright day, tape your new

piece of paper over the drawing and

trace the lines that will be visible.

You can also try rubbing graphite or pastel

over the back of the sheet then tracing

over the lines onto a new piece of paper.

Make sure that you don’t press too hard

when you trace the lines or you will indent

your paper.

SHADING WATER AND REFLECTIONS

Reflections in water are made up of areas of light and

dark in contrast. The darkness or lightness of the contrast

is what makes the reflection believable. If you want to

show an area of light then you must put an area of intense

dark next to it and vice versa. The colour or tone of the

reflection should be darker than the actual object that is

being reflected.

Using powdered graphite or an HB pencil and very light

pressure, cover the surface of the water in your drawing

then blend it with a tissue or tortillon. A tissue is better

for large areas such as the water in this drawing.

What you are trying to achieve is a light grey ‘ground’ – a base tone for the water that you will

then add to with darker tones or lighten with your kneaded eraser to reflect the tones and

shadows of the water.

Some variances in the

overall tone are acceptable

at this point as you will

continue to model the forms

as your drawing progresses

and the water itself has

areas of subtle light

changes. Just make sure

that you have covered the

water area with a blended

layer of graphite.

Illustration 3



6

Once your ground is complete, then go back over the tone you have just made with your HB

pencil just barely stroking the paper to add an even layer of graphite. There should be no

discernable lines from your pencil, just an even tone. To do this, the end of your pencil should

resemble a chisel, with one side flattened. This will give you a wider coverage of the paper and

leaves a sharp edge on the other side for detail work. When you sharpen your pencil, either use a

scrap piece of paper to flatten your end or if you use mechanical pencils, simple continue to use

just one side of the lead. With mechanical pencils, you can purchase a wider lead such as a .07

or .09mm that will lay down graphite more quickly.

You can cover a

large area with a basic tone by

applying graphite powder to

the area with a brush, tissue or

piece of chamois.

You can create your own

graphite powder by rubbing a

woodless graphite pencil over

fine sandpaper, then use the

resulting powder or simply draw

a big spot of graphite with a soft

pencil – 8B is good - on a scrap

piece of paper and then rub a

tissue in it. The graphite sticks to

the tissue and all you have to

do is rub it on your drawing.

Illustration 4

Continue to model the tones of the water surface. The dark tones are areas of moving water

which do not reflect the light. Use your 2B pencil to create the dark values. Do not outline the

shape but use the chisel end of your pencil to make the shape against the contrasting lighter tone

become the boundary. Your drawing will not look very appealing right now, but keep going, it

will improve!



7

Using the same

technique that you

used on the water,

begin to add tones

to the boat.

Use light pressure

and HB pencil to

put down the base

tone, then start to

add deeper tones

in light layers,

leaving the white

of the paper in the

strips of light

slanting

diagonally across

the hull of the

boat.

The shapes that make up the shadow, light lines and planks of the boat need careful observation

and gradual shading to achieve a realistic appearance.

Illustration 6

Illustration 5



8

Illustration 7

Note the slight shifts in tonal value in the water in

front of the boat. This is achieved by gradual

building of layers of graphite. Stroke your pencil

gently over the area to be darkened, making sure

that you blend into the surrounding area and don’t

leave distinct lines.

The bow (front) of the boat is lighter as that is

facing the direction of the light and the shading

deepens the further back you go on the boat.

Shading is deepest just under the top edge and

where the boat meets the water and the reflection

starts. Use your 2B to deepen tones and a 4B or 6B

for very dark accents, if required.

Illustration 8

Do not use heavy

pressure when adding layers of

graphite, especially to a

smooth paper. You will rapidly

fill the tooth of the paper and

be unable add more graphite

to reach the dark values that

you want.

A light spray of workable

fixative can help you add a

little more graphite, but once

you’ve applied it to your

drawing you won’t be able to

erase anything previously

done!



9

Slowly build layers of graphite in the boat and its reflections. Notice that the lighter lines of

light in the reflection are not bright white or clearly defined. Soften edges of these lines by

gradual shading. The reflection is quite dark in comparison to the boat itself and indicates the

depth of the water that it sits on.

Use your 2B and 4B

pencils to develop the

shading on the water.

The darker areas have

lighter sections within

them and need careful

blending to achieve that

image. Keep adding

light layers of graphite

to deepen tones. Your

pencil should be barely

touching the paper with

little pressure,

otherwise you will

loose the tooth on your

paper.

Illustration 9

For the brightest highlights of the lines of light on the

boat and touches of light on the ropes and in the water,

use your kneaded eraser to lift out graphite. You can

mold your erase to a thin point to do this or you can cut

a vinyl eraser into shapes that will allow you to take out

sharp lines. Once you’ve done that, go back in and

blend the lines carefully so they don’t have defined

edges.

Add detail to the ropes holding the boat. The rope

stretching over the bow of the boat is taut, knotted and

frayed. Add the roughness to the rope and the frayed

strings hanging into the boat with your 2B and 4B

pencils.

Illustration 10



10

Indicate the second rope

to the bow with its hook

and eye and the ends of

the rope hanging into the

water. The reflections of

these ropes in the water

are not clearly defined

and darker than the rope

in the air.

The ropes are also

reflected on the bow of

the boat and in the

reflection too, and are not

crisp lines but undulate

with the boat and the

watery reflection.

Illustration 11

The shapes of the reflection of the hull of the boat are carefully shading, along with the reflected

light from the water, varying tone as necessary to create depth and realism. Slowly build your

layers and avoid any hard lines. One area should blend seamlessly into the next.

Illustration 12



11

Illustration 13

Go back into your drawing and develop the background water. Add dark shadows and blend

them with mid tones and lighter sections, leaving bright highlights as the white of the paper

showing through. Blend if you want then go over the area again with a light touch to bring up

the tones.

Draw the form of the buoy floating the water on the upper left. It is round and your drawing

should show the shading that makes it appear circular. Keep in mind your light source when

drawing this object. The reflection of the buoy will be darker with some lighter sections on the

right hand side where the light catches that side of the float.

A white squiggly line appears and reflects a line from a distant source that we can’t see. You can

create this line with the edge of your kneaded eraser or a sharp edge of a vinyl eraser. A similar

line is shown on the far right which is also another reflection of a darker line in the distance. Use

your 2B pencil to create this with light pressure. You don’t want a crisp line for this. It should

be slightly blurred.

Take your time drawing. Realistic drawing is not a quick exercise and time is needed to build

the layers and achieve the tones that you need . Careful observation of the shadows and

reflections on the boat, its reflection, and the water are necessary. Changes in tone in this image

are subtle at times and need careful blending.

Illustration 11



12

Continue deepening tones and evening out the water surface with tonal changes. Reinforce the

darkest points of the edge of the boat and the frayed rope. Use your eraser to lift out the

brightest highlights and to lighten some areas of the water as well as the highlights on the water.

Let your drawing sit for a week. Don’t even look at it. Turn it over so you can’t see it. Then go

back and see if there are areas that need adjustment. They will be easily seen after a break from

your drawing. When you are satisfied and have made your final tweaks, give the drawing a light

spray of fixative to prevent smearing, sign it, date it and frame it!

Illustration 14

Now you know how to draw water! The same technique applies to drawing glass and metal.

Break down your object into shapes and note the tonal values of the shapes. Take your time to

complete an accurate line drawing then slowly build layers using light pressure.

Find another scene containing water and use the skills you have learned here to make a new

drawing.

water and reflectionsfiles.faso.us/36396/2425.pdf · 2012. 11. 11. · water and reflections...

Documents